AXA Phils to launch health insurance products next yr

MANILA, Philippines - AXA Philippines is set to launch its health insurance products next year and expand into the trust and investments business the following year to complement its growing life insurance business.

Last year, the local unit of global giant AXA of France, ranked third largest in the Philippines in terms of total premium income and was the leader in first year premiums.

AXA Philippines president and chief executive officer Severinus P. P. Hermans said they have been studying the local health and the trust business.

“It is logical trend that AXA enters the health insurance business, and we have the entire region’s support and vast experience,” Hermans said, adding that most of their AXA counterparts are already in the health business.

“We have an advantage in that we have a global brand,” he said.

He said while demand for health insurance is high in the country, as in the rest of the region, there are not enough affordable products in the Philippines, citing complications with the presence of health maintenance organizations (HMOs), which are not centrally regulated by government.

The life insurer said that it has assets worth P36 billion that may become the seed capital for starting a trust business.

Hermans said that they are looking at a process that may enhance its investment-linked life insurance products, the trust business of the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), and its expanding client base.

Metrobank is a partner in a joint venture bancassurance with AXA Philippines, which allows the insurer to sell its products through the bank’s 557-branch network.

Meanwhile, AXA Philippines said it is confident that it will surpass its 2010 total premiums income of P8.3 billion this year, as it has been expanding its business in the past nine-months by over 20 percent.

From January to September this year, annualized sales expanded 20 percent, over 29 percent in first year premiums, and over 20 percent in total premiums.

“Our income has been expanding by roughly 10 to 15 percent,” Hermans said.

AXA Philippines has a customer base of 125,000 individual customers. It agency force consists of 1,450 agents in 23 branches, 444 financial executives based in Metrobank branches, and 116 direct marketing staff.